Lifesaving cushion



. Feb. 9, 1943 H. SCRABTREE I 2, 10,840

LIFE SAVING CUSHION Filed Feb. 20, 1940 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 9, 1943UNlED STATES LIFESAVING CUSHION Hedley Stidston Crabtree, Caterham,England Application February 20, 1940, Serial No. 319,937

In Great Britain March 7, 1939 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined cushion and life-belt particularlydesigned but not necessarily limited for use on the seats of aircraftused by the pilot or other members of the crew of aircraft both civiland military, and it has for its object the provision of a cushionadapted to rest in a recessed shaped seat (as is usually employed forpilots seats) said cushion being so formed that the inner partconstitutes a life- :belt capable of being readily released in case ofnecessity.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates how the present inventionmay be carried into effect,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cushion;

Figure 2 is a plan;

Figure 3 is a section on line III-III of Figure 2, and,

Figure 4 is a view illustrating the method of fitting the life-belt tothe pilot.

According to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the cushioncomprises two oblong pockets I and 2 formed of waterproof material, eachof which is divided by horizontally disposed partitions into three ormore compartments 3, 4 and 5, the outer compartments 3 and 4 beingstuffed with kapok or other suitable material while the innercompartment 5 is furnished with an air cushion 6 preferably but notnecessarily composed of a single length of india-rubber tubing providedwith means for inflating same.

The oblong pockets I and 2 are adapted to be closed by suitable lacingmeans in any known manner, the two pockets I and 2 are connectedtogether by a band I of waterproof material of the same width as themaximum width of the pockets, the length of said band beingapproximately equal to the width of the two pockets combined so thatwhen it is desired to use the device as a cushion, the two pockets maybe placed side by side so that one face of each pocket is restingagainst one face of the connecting band as shown in Figure 3. The band Ipreferably extends from the free edge 8 of one pocket to thecorresponding edge of the other pocket or slightly beyond these edges asshown in Figure 4 and thereby forms one wall of the pocket 3. The meansfor securing the device to the body for use as a life-belt consists of apair of straps 9 which may extend throughout the full length of the beltand are secured to the pockets and band, each of said straps beingprovided at one end with a swivel I0 adapted to coact with rings or thelike II on the other ends of the straps.

The life-belt thus formed is adapted to be contained within a casing I2,the bottom I3 of which is secured to the side edges I4 by spring buttonsI5 or other easily releasable means.

The means for removing the cushion from the seat in the case ofemergency comprises a leather thong or other cord I6, the ends of whichare secured to the free edge ll of the bottom I3 of the casing I2 at thepoints I8, the loop I9 being arranged to pass beneath the cushion and toproject upwardly beyond one side edge thereof as shown in Figures 1 and3.

When circumstances are such as to render it necessary for the pilot tomake use of his lifebelt, he rises from the seat and pulls the loop I9after him. The cushion is thus removed from the seat and if pulled withsufiicient force will also rip open the bottom I3 of the casing I2 andthe life-belt will be free to fall therefrom, but the cord I6 is alsoattached to the life-belt by means of a wire, means such as a snap-hookbeing provided for detaching the cord and thereby the casing from thebelt. The belt is secured to the body in the manner above described andis maintained in position and prevented from sliding down the body bymeans of a shoulder strap 29 or by means of two separate straps attachedto the front and rear ends of the pockets I and 2, said straps beingcrossed in known manner.

According to a modification the side walls of the pockets I and 2 andthe casing I2 may be shaped a indicated by broken lines 2| in Figure 2to enable same to fit in pilots seats having that particular shape.

What I claim is:

1. A life saving cushion comprising a life belt and casing therefor, thelife belt including two buoyant generally rectangular elements and a webof flexible material, an edge of each of said elements being attached toan end of said web respectively, securing means along the opposite edgeof each of said elements for securing them to the body of a wearer, thelength of the web being substantially equal to the combined width ofsaid elements thereby providing a common surface against which theelements may be folded in side by side relation with the web forming acovering on one side thereof, said casing being constructed of fabricand substantially the size of the folded life belt, means for closingthe casing thereby constraining the belt and forming a cushion, andmeans for opening the casing.

2. A cushion as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said elementsincludes a cover, partition flatable member in the centre compartmentand buoyant material in the compartments at each side.

4. A cushion as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for closing thecasing comprises press button fasteners interposed between a side andthe remaining portion of the casing, a member secured to said side andprojecting beyond an edge of the casing thereby affording a means for 10ripping the fasteners apart.

HEDLEY STIDSTON CRABTREE.

